Romney: Heart told him he'd win, until he saw Fla.

March 3, 2013 @ 6:46 am


FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney waves to supporters at an election night rally in Boston, where he conceded the race to President Barack Obama. Romney has emerged from nearly four months in seclusion for an interview with Fox News. He’s also scheduled to deliver his first postelection speech this month at Washington’s Conservative Political Action Conference. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File) | Zoom

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mitt Romney says his heart said he was going to win the presidency, but when early results came in on election night, he knew it was not to be.

The GOP nominee tells "Fox News Sunday" that he knew his campaign was in trouble when exit polls suggested a close race in Florida. Romney thought he'd win the state solidly.

Obama ended up taking Florida and won the election by a wide margin in the electoral vote.

Romney says there was "a slow recognition" at that time that President Barack Obama would win _ and the race soon was over when Obama carried Ohio.

Romney says the loss hit hard and was emotional. Ann Romney says she cried.

The former Massachusetts governor acknowledges mistakes in the campaign and flaws in his candidacy.

But he jokes that he did better in his second run for the White House than he did the first time around _ when he lost the 2008 nomination to Arizona Sen. John McCain.

He says he won't get a third crack at it.

Romney says his campaign didn't do a good job connecting with minority voters, and that Republicans must do a better job in appealing to African-Americans and Hispanics.

He says his campaign underestimated the appeal of Obama's new health care law to low-income voters.

But he knows that because he lost the race, it's hard to tell the GOP to listen now to what he has to say about how to improve the party's message.

The Romneys are living in Southern California now and he's kept a low profile since the election. He says "you move on" from the disappointment and that "I don't spend my life looking back."

Ann Romney says that after the election she was approached by TV's "Dancing with the Stars," but declined to join the cast.

She says she'll be turning 64 soon and "I'm not really as flexible as I should be."

The interview was taped Thursday and aired Sunday.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (72)


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  • CH wrote...
    * Romney sprinting to finish in key states . . . .
    November 3, 2012 4:17 pm
    ever see a fat boy run to fast down a hill? You see the picture!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Six (6) years!
    November 3, 2012 4:25 pm
    Running a losing campaign. What a waste of time, money and energy. He has lost, key states have already pegged Obama as the winner. Wonder how mitt feels? All the suckers that gave money to his campaign, all the promises he won't be able to fulfill. Sorry mitt, you lost!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleD wrote...
    "Two days ahead of the election, Republican Mitt Romney is renewing his pledge to work with Democrats on Capitol Hill if elected."
    November 4, 2012 7:28 am
    "He's also promising to overturn Democrats' signature achievements."

    Dumney has already failed at bipartisanship, and he hasn't even been elected yet.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Weaken unions, repeal Obamacare....
    November 4, 2012 10:43 am
    Promises from a man who knows he has lost. Unattainable goals.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    * Romney pledges bipartisanship in final push - push off the cliff . . . .
    November 4, 2012 11:03 am
    bipartisanship? lol. Just like the republican't did the last 4 years? Hey mittens Fox Non-News has a job cleaning the news room floor. 2 more days boys and girls then the GOP will have their red meat. Sweet
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Ahhh! ONE MORE DAY! As is clearly evident in ch's hysterical posts.
    November 5, 2012 5:49 am
    Tomorrow it is PRESIDENT ROMNEY! How about that Parrots? Your Dear Leader LOSES to us Americans and Mr. Romney and in a LANDSLIDE.

    So how about it Parrots? What will you do when you wake in "Morning in America" on Wednesday to the sounds of Happy Days are here again? You will be ousted from Mommies basement and have to get a job. Since Romney will be POTUS and will turn around the ObamaEconomy the NO JOBS excuse will be all that. An excuse!

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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    100 Percent agree with Mr. Romney repealing ObamaCare But,
    November 5, 2012 8:07 am
    how does a Romney Presidency weaken unions? A robust thriving economy strengthens the unions. Unions historically do better under Republican administrations.

    Obama is the one who has weakened the unions through this ObamaEconomy.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Booger Barnes wrote...
    Don't be afraid of math and facts!!!
    November 5, 2012 1:25 pm
    Obama hasn’t been perfect nor has he got everything done that he said he would. I will give you that, but I was never foolish enough to believe he could fix the mess in 4 years. It took over 8 years to create it. Bush and Clinton have blame in this, as well as Obama. I know , I know “there goes the liberal blaming Bush again” a fact is a fact. He did serious damage to this country and 4 years wasn’t going to fix it no matter who was president. but Romney is just plain lying and is betting on the American public being idiots. Even Dori has fallen for his snake oil. 5 point plan, 12 million jobs. No math to prove any of this. It’s absolutely mind blowing that no one seems to care. He cites 6 studies. 3 of which are blog posts. And 2 of them say that no matter who is president next term there is a good chance there will be 12 million new jobs. One of them is written by one of his campaign staff and the last one contradicts the others. Insanity. People are just too lazy to check out the facts for themselves or they just don’t care. I’m betting even money on both. If Obama wins, he will spend no time campaigning and get things done. He won’t have to worry about hurting feelings. This is how the second term works. If Romney wins he will get nothing done. He will be in the same position Obama was for his first 4 years. The Democrats will filibuster just like the Republicans did and it will be another four years of politicians playing politics instead of actually doing their job. Fact check Mitts math. It’s not hard to do. You won’t find the Answer on FOX or any other major news network.
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  • CH wrote...
    Ahhh! ONE MORE DAY! As is clearly evident in ch's hysterical posts . . . .
    November 5, 2012 7:40 pm
    the day has come. Ok what bridge? You won't be missed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cbrew wrote...
    Oh boy :) Election day, and tomorrow, It's Me Ha Ha! has to come back on here
    November 6, 2012 11:31 am
    and eat his crow... admit to his stupidity and he'll probably go off the deep end blaming this that and the other... certainly not his beloved Romney... lol... I can't wait, I'm going to have so much fun laughing at him and all of his buddies on here... Delusional freaks from the right are getting worse every year... I'll laugh in your faces and let you figure out what to do next, since you'll have 4 years of Obama no matter what, maybe you'll get off the right wing hate train and look around at reality, Remember when you're sitting in your dissapointment probably crying over this defeat, It was your beloved Faux news propoganda machine that told you Romney was winning.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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